


Ocean's Horizon

by AightImmaHeadOut



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AightImmaHeadOut/pseuds/AightImmaHeadOut
Summary: Requested by Kanby! Sorry for the wait (シ. .)シ
Relationships: Mello | Mihael Keehl/Near | Nate River
Comments: 14
Kudos: 21





	1. Mystery Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by Kanby! Sorry for the wait (シ. .)シ

Out of all the things that Mello thought he would do in his life, finding a mermaid was not one of them. 

  
  


Sorry, scratch that, an  _ attractive _ mermaid. And to make matters worse, this mermaid was a male. 

Fuck. Mello never really thought that he was the, um, gayest person in the world. In fact, some might argue that he was, is quite straight. All of his flings and one-night stands were all you needed to hear from. But enough with that. The story itself is funnier. 

____________________________________________________________________________

It all began when he and his roommate, Matt, had gotten into their once-a-year-annual-fight-that-always-ends-so-badly-that-it-seems-like-they’re-never-gonna-make-up-again-until-Matt-calls-Mello-and-they-talk-it-out-for-three-hours-and-then-bam-friendship-goals. 

Mello stomped down the street, as onlookers cleared out of his way. Anyone could clearly see that he was pissed, and no one wanted to get on a man with a scar on his face mad at 3:00 in the morning, so no-one said a thing. He went down to a nearby beach, one where he knows so well despite him founding it out only last year on their last

once-a-year-annual-fight-that-always-ends-so-badly-that-it-seems-like-they’re-never-gonna-make-up-again-until-Matt-calls-Mello-and-they-talk-it-out-for-three-hours-and-then-bam-friendship-goals.

Sitting down on one of the smooth and warm rocks, he simply watched the ocean and questioned where he was going to stay this time. A hotel seemed much too dramatic and very expensive, so that was out. An inn seemed disgusting, it took months for Mello to recover from that horrible experience. 

Mello rested his eyes on the horizon. The sun was already beginning to set, and if he didn’t find a place soon, he would have to sleep on the damp, moist sand. Which he really wouldn’t of minded, but the ocean air could  _ not _ be good for his fantastic leather everything. And the fact that the beach was closed, an no one was even supposed to be here, much less some dude in fantastic leather spending the night on their prestigious beach. 

So that was why Mello was surprised to see a young boy swimming gracefully as if it was the most regular thing in the world and the beach belonged to him. Squinting against the sunlight, he analyzed the appearance. It appeared that his hair was white. 

...White? The fuck?

If he was albino, then that wouldn’t explain why he was able to swim without him turning into a lobster. Maybe that was why he chose to swim at night and potentially get caught by the owners? Damn. This was bothering him. Maybe actually asking him would help. 

“Oi! What the fuck are you doing out there? It’s late, don’t you think?”

Now, Mello has always scared people with his scar, and it never ceases to amaze him how similar their reactions are. They run away, duck their heads and pray for the best, while some just veer out of his entire path completely. He used to be quite annoyed with these results, but nowadays, it amuses him to see them almost run into a car trying to run away. 

He had never been so surprised when the white-haired boy dove in the water and disappeared. 

____________________________________________________________________________

In the end, Mello decided to risk his sanity and go to an inn. He had a lot of thinking to do. This was the first time in a long time he’s ever been worried for a  _ dude _ . Why was he so worried about someone he didn’t even meet? He guesses it was because of one fact. 

The boy had never come up for air. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Mello climbed over the fence hours after the gates had been locked and everyone went home. He was about to solve this mystery and get in at least a few good words before pretty boy dove off again. He planned to swim after him if the guy even tried anything. 

Which explained the old t-shirt and swimming trunks. 

Hiding behind a large rock a little out to sea, Mello crouched behind it, unwrapping a chocolate bar to make up for lost time. This could take a while. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Mello woke up to soft pebbles being thrown at his shoulder. 

Quickly getting up to defend himself, he was surprised to see that the sun had set and the breeze was already starting to give him the chills. Looking up to see who awoke his peaceful slumber, his mouth dropped. 

It was Mr. Pretty boy.

  
  


And he was still fucking swimming. 

Mello beckoned him to come over and got a funny feeling when he shook his head and beckoned  _ him _ to come over instead. Scanning his surroundings, he saw that their was no rock that was close enough to get to him without getting wet himself. And yelling in the middle the night and getting them both caught for trespassing was not a good idea.

Before he realized what he was doing, he was diving in the cool water to meet someone he had never met before. Weird. 

That was what Mello felt as he swimming freestyle to the boy. Weird. His stomach was filled with anticipation as if he was about to solve one of the world’s greatest cases. Stopping a good 2 meters from the boy, he shared and looked at him for real. 

He was pale, and his skin wasn’t marked with any freckles or birthmarks. His hair stuck to his face as it shone the tiniest bit from the moonlight. His eyes were large and grey, but curiosity filled them as he looked at Mello admiringly. Although he could tell he was an adult, Mello knew just by the action of letting a complete stranger come up to him at night that he was innocent. Innocent and stupid. 

Mello was like that once too. But the world was harsh, and this guy obviously hadn’t met those things yet. 

The boy backed away almost shyly away from Mello.

“Mello. What’s your name?”

____________________________________________________________________________

His name was Near. 

His voice was calm and soothing. Overtime, Mello found himself lulling himself with memories of that voice to sleep.

____________________________________________________________________________

“And then? Matt decides to call me at 3:00 in the fucking morning when he was  _ drunk _ to tell me that he was sorry for yelling at me again and then proceeds to cry over the phone for the next half hour before his phone dies” Mello snickers.

Near laughs softly. He had a nice one too, and it definitely wasn’t like Matt’s obnoxious, yet highly addictive laugh that gets annoying yet funnier overtime. 

“And then what?” he questions.

“And then I get really worried and am forced to  _ walk _ for an hour just to check if he’s okay.” Mello snickers as he brings a wet hand to wipe away a tear from his own story.

Near smiles softly. “That sounds so like you, Mello. You’re a good friend. I wish I could meet him.” he says wistfully. 

Mello quickly replaces his confused expression with a more serious look. Why did it seem like he was never going to meet him? He could just get them together for coffee. Near and him have been getting quite...close. Maybe it could be just the two of them first. It has been two months since they met after all. 

“Near...I have something I want to ask you.”

“Anything, Mello.”

  
  


“Do you... want to go out for coffee next week?”

  
  


Mello begins to sweat. Surely things would go out as he planned. Surely he would  _ finally _ get out of the water to see his damn legs.

Surely he would say yes.

  
  


“I can’t.”

  
  


Mello felt as if someone just punched him in the throat. He felt breathless and defenseless. Before he could stop himself, he began to get nervous, and started to inch towards shore.

“Oh, of course not. Yeah, yeah, I get it. You know what? I think I’m gonna call it a night, I’m starting to look like a prune. “

“Mello-”

“No, no, don’t say anything. Don’t _ fucking _ say anything. It’s not like the past few months have been anything special after all.”

Swimming as fast as he possibly could, Mello, now on shore immediately regretted turning back once more.

Near’s tears were shining under the moonlight. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Mello doesn’t go the next day. He just has too much pride. 


	2. Promise Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! Thank you for your patience, Kanby!

Mello tossed and turned in his bed. 

He shouldn’t have left so quickly. He really shouldn’t have. 

No matter how many times he’s tried, or how many things he’d tried to distract himself with, nor how many chocolate bars he seemed to eat, he just can’t stop thinking about how Near’s face looked when he left in a haste. 

And god, those eyes.

Matt had noticed the change of mood too. It wasn’t like his usual mood swings or the ‘unless you want your ego hurt so bad, then don’t talk to me’ face. It was more solemn and calculating. Now, it didn’t take an Einstein to figure out that something way more different (and probably more serious) happened. So what does Matt do? 

He ignores it for the first five days and then pops the questions right off the bat. 

“Mello!” Matt called. 

Mello looks over at his friend handing him a coffee. “What do you need this time?” he says, raising an eyebrow.

Matt inwardly cringes. Why does he always have to be so sharp? Instead, he covers everything up with a pout. “Aw, just cause I make you your coffee one morning, I’m automatically suspicious?”

“Yes.”   
  


“That’s mean, Mello!”

“Yeah, well what is it? Hurry up. I have something to do.”

  
  


“Like going out at night when you think I’m sleeping to see someone?”

Mello dropped the mug. The hot liquid immediately seeped through his pants causing him to immediately curse. So much for leather. 

“Ah, right on the nail I see.”

“Shut the fuck up Matt.”

Matt threw up his hands. “Okay, okay. But in return, you have to tell me everything. Or else I’ll tell Linda that you have a crush on someone.”

Mello sighed loudly. He could tell a lie, he was fully capable of doing so. He could even gloss some things over so he wouldn’t be embarrassed. But honestly? He was stumped. What the hell was he supposed to do? Whose feelings were more important, his or Near’s?

____________________________________________________________________________

Matt couldn’t stop laughing. 

“So you’re telling me…..pffffft, you’re telling me that you just walked away? Oh god, Mello.” 

Mello’s face was bright red with embarrassment. Matt was saying this was common sense. And the way he explained that this could’ve all been avoided was beginning to make Mello feel less and less hotheaded and more and more stupid. Matt’s expression turned to something more serious. 

“Seriously, man. You shouldn’t have left him hanging in the first place. In a relationship, that’s a big no-no.”

Mello scowled. “We were never in a  _ relationship _ , Matt. He made it pretty clear that he wasn’t interested.”

Matt gave a crooked smile. “But did he really?”

  
  


_ What? _

  
  


“The fuck you mean by that?”

“Woah there, Mello. Don’t get defensive. If I remember correctly, this Near dude tried to call you back.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Mello hesitantly climbed over the long fence. It was an odd feeling of deja vu mixed with dread. Endless doubts flew through his head as he made his way through a small clump of bushes. He could already smell the ocean air before he saw it, and the sand beneath his feet began making small crunches underneath his weight. Mello sighed. 

Fuck. Was this a mistake?

Screw it. Too late.

  
  


Mello pushed the last bit of the branches apart, half hoping that Near would be there and half hoping he’d be holding his breath for a ridiculously long time again and not be there.

Mello’s breath hitched. He was there.

  
  


And he was crying again. Just sitting there crying. 

  
  


Fuck! If he was really causing Near this much pain, why was he here in the first place? He cared about Near so, so much, way more than he should be, but if that’s all he was going to do is cause him more misery, seeing Near would only make it worse. 

Yeah. Yeah, he was going back. He’d lie to Matt this time for sure, and fabricate something that wasn’t real. Near probably didn’t want to see him anyway. He’d find someone else. He was easily replaceable. 

  
  


_ Except he wasn’t.  _

  
  


All the girls Mello’s ever been with were snotty, stupid, and forever clinging to his shoulder bringing him down.  _ They  _ were easily replaceable. But Near… 

Near dragged him up with him. Near was never afraid to say what he was feeling. Near made him cry from laughter. And even if he didn’t know it,  _ Near _ made him calculate, made him think about the best way to talk to him. Not the easiest way, but the best. 

It was all because of  _ him _ . 

____________________________________________________________________________

Mello walked up to him and inwardly cringed when Near didn’t turn around. In fact, he didn’t react at all. Mello was about to speak, he really was, but the younger one beat him to it.

“I waited for you.”

Mello bit his lip. Near’s voice sounded so hurt and was filled with betrayal. 

“I waited for you for  _ five days  _ and you chose to come now.”

Mello dreaded the moment when Near turned around, but his back was still turned.

“You know, I almost gave up. There was no point for me coming up to the surface if you weren’t here.”

“Near-” and Mello suddenly stopped. That’s when it clicked. 

  
  


_ Near beckoning Mello to come over instead.  _

_ When the white-haired boy dove in the water and disappeared.  _

_ He had never come up for air.  _

_ Dove off again. _

_ He was still swimming _

_ Got a funny feeling when he shook his head and beckoned him to come over instead _

_ “I wish I could meet him.” _

_ “I can’t.” _

  
  


Of all the goddamn-

_ “Near.” _

Near finally looked up at him, with both swollen eyes and a knowing look because Mello  _ knew _ .

He couldn’t even keep his voice from shaking. 

“Show me...show me your legs.”

____________________________________________________________________________

So it was true. 

Near physically couldn’t go to coffee. Near physically couldn’t go and meet Matt on his own. 

  
  


Because Near Lawlight was a mermaid. 

Near explained that he got scared on their first meeting because he’d never seen a human before. It was also forbidden to go into their territory because mermaids had a terrible history with them - mermaids were considered dangerous because of their headstrong personalities and their violence when their family members were attacked.

But… Mello was too interesting. He found himself asking Mello to come over because he couldn’t stand not knowing things. He was quite childish, and it made him really happy when Mello came to see a stranger and otherwise strange boy swimming where he wasn’t supposed to. 

Near described his plan of keeping the fact that he was a mermaid a secret. All of his ancestors described humans to be worthless, evil, and violent, but in reality, all people aren’t the same. He said that falling in love (yes, he said fall in love) was never part of the plan, but when Mello asked him out for coffee, that was when things got out of hand. There was really no way, none at all, for him to go without his secret being exposed, which is why he rejected him.

“I’ve never been so mad at myself before,” Near said, looking away. “I really was going to explain at that moment, but you just seemed so mad...Of course, there was no way for me to follow you.”

Mello’s brow furrowed. “Near, no. It was my fault. I  _ heard _ you call back, but I had too much pride to look at you again. I had a talk with Matt, and he finally snapped me out of my senses. That’s the reason I’m here in the first place…”

Mello gave him a dorky smile and held out his hand. “No more secrets?”

Near’s smile was off in an instant. 

“Mello….”

The funny feeling was back in his stomach again. “What? What is it?”

“Mello...The oils on human skin are different from mine...too different. If you and I even share one contact of touch, I’ll-”

Mello immediately opened his mouth

“You’ll die?! Why the hell didn’t you tell me that?! That was one of the riskiest-”

Near raised a wet hand to silence him. 

“Mello, let me speak.  _ Dying _ isn’t the right word. We have about a handful of lives to spare. I think I'm on my last one-”

“Eh?! The hell were you doing that caused you to use up one of your lives!?”

“ _ Mello. _ You have to understand that living in the ocean isn’t easy. Unlike humans, we basically have a sign on all of us that says ‘come eat me.’ People say it’s God’s way of apologizing for making us flashy prey. It’s not all a fairytale, you know.”

Mello opened his mouth again but Near has had enough.

“Okay, you know what Mello? I’m giving you a rule to not speak until I  _ specify that I’m done _ . Do you always interrupt Matt?” 

Mello scowled, but still didn’t say anything. 

“Anyway, that means I can’t touch you. And that’s a problem. Relationships don’t work without touch.” Near says sadly. His expression hardened again. “Back to what I’m saying, is that mermaids also get reincarnated. All of them that I have ever been reincarnated back into a mermaid, always seem to come back as the same age as they were. In my case that would be 18.

Mello nodded. So he was two years younger than him. 

“They don’t always remember their previous memories, but it’s something. Some folks, however, have seen sightings and had given evidence that they’ve seen their family members have legs and walk with a human.  _ They _ are considered traitors.”

“We have another problem as well. The thing is, my dad noticed that I haven’t been hanging around home lately. For the last five days, he’s been bombarding me with questions. He found out that I’m seeing you. Called me a disappointment, a traitor, but I yelled back. I've really had enough of that guy. I guess he knows how many lives I have left, and he states that he’s not afraid to execute me to keep his kingdom safe.” 

Near sighs. “Sad thing is, I know he isn’t lying. Logic is the only thing on his mind.”

Near meets Mello’s eyes. 

“Mello, can you come into the water for a bit? I want to tell you something. 

Mello silently complies, taking off his shirt and leaving his bathing suit on. He gets into the water, happy that it’s warm. 

Near turns away. 

“Mello, I love you. I love you so much, and I’m so glad that I met you. I usually lose logic to solve my problems too, so I decided to change things up a bit. Scratch that, I refuse to make a move unless I know it’s all good for me. I hate risks, you know.” 

Mello hears Near take a breath. 

“I’m sorry Mello. You're allowed to talk after my next sentence, okay?”

  
  


Near turns around. 

  
  


_ “Please find me, okay?” _

  
  


And suddenly, Near’s lips are on Mello’s. His free hand tugs Mello’s slightly wet hair, and the other is on his cheek. His eyes closed.

Mello's eyes widened in shock. He was kissing Near. He was  _ touching _ Near. 

  
  


No. Near was gonna disappear. 

  
  


Mello pushed himself away from the other boy. Near’s eyes were already starting to glaze over, the effect of human touch already taking place. Mello rushed back to him again, cradling him close. 

“Why, Near? What made you think that this was the answer?” Mello’s voice was already starting to crack, and his eyes were burning.

“...No...time” Near’s limbs were going limp.

“Okay, okay….let’s- we’ll get you to the nearest-”

“No…! Pro...mise”

“Near, your fading! What the hell? This isn’t how it’s supposed to work!”

“Promise…” 

Near really was fading. He was getting more transparent by the second, and his face was beginning to blur. If he didn’t do something fast…!

“Mello!”   
  


Mello’s mind snapped back to reality. It sounded like him before…

He couldn’t help it. The tears started to fall. 

“Promise me…!”

Mello closed his eyes. His mind, his body, everything was telling him to never let Near go, to grab him and get him to a hospital. But what were they supposed to do? There was no way they could find a cure in 30 seconds, and Near was a  _ mermaid _ for god’s sake! How was he supposed to explain? It would take too much time. 

_ ‘Look at you! You can’t even do something for the one you love! You can’t tell him a lie!’ _

But there was another side... one that he never listens to, and always comes back anyway.

_ ‘Look, Mello. Aren’t you proud? He’s so brave, look! He’s not even crying, and for you. Open your eyes, Mello, please.” _

Mello opened his eyes.

“I… I promise. I swear I’ll find you. I will. We can be together again.”

Near’s eyes widened the slightest bit before closing them again. 

  
  


“I love you, Near.”

  
  


And then he was gone. Forever. 

____________________________________________________________________________

It’s been two years since then. 

  
  


Mello kept his promise, and with Matt, they worked together to find anyone with a similar appearance. Mello doesn’t know when the reincarnation takes effect, or even if he’s a human at all. All he knows is that he should keep the same appearance, and he should be about 20 years old. Hell, he doesn’t even know if Near remembers him at this point. It’s been _ two years _ .

But he keeps it up. Even when Matt begs him to take a break. Even when he has to peek at people through dorm windows, to see any hint of white hair. 

  
  


And all his hard work pays off one day. 

  
  


It just happens to be the day when Mello met Near. Mello is on his way to the place on foot with his hood up, seeing if Near has turned into a mermaid after all. 

He really doubts it though.

He’s about 15 minutes from the beach when he runs into someone with a smack. The smaller one falls to the ground, his books and glasses crashing on the pavement. 

“Would you watch it? I’d rather not be hit in the face with leather at 3:00 in the morning, thank you.”

Mello’s about to make a rude retort back when he freezes.

He knows that voice. He knows that hair. He knows that tone.

He knows everything about this man.

The boy gets up again, and is about to walk away when Mello grabs his wrist.

He flinches, because Mello’s grip is hard, and expects to be hit any second. Instead, the blond one stares. Mello speaks first. 

“Who are you?”

The other one fights his way out of his grip, dusting off his white collared shirt, grimacing as there's a slight dirt stain on the front.

“You should know who I am, sir. I was on the news, and given the prize for best grades in Japan.

The boy hugs his books towards, smirking.

  
  


“Nate River, valedictorian. And who might you be, Mr. Pretty Boy who obviously has no sight or common sense to know who I am?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a bittersweet ending there. Near has no memory of Mello, but obviously has some past connections from his other life. Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be a one-shot? But it turned out to be way too long so...I guess new chapter out soon?


End file.
